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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Staggering Structure in 19 Nearby Spiral Galaxies

    February 1, 2024, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The James Webb Space Telescope observed 19 nearby face-on spiral galaxies in near- and mid-infrared light as part of its contributions to the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) program.

    It’s oh-so-easy to be absolutely mesmerized by these spiral galaxies. Follow their clearly defined arms, which are brimming with stars, to their centers, where there may be old star clusters and – sometimes – active supermassive black holes. Only NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope can deliver highly detailed scenes of nearby galaxies in a combination of near- and mid-infrared light — and a set of these images was publicly released today.

    These Webb images are part of a large, long-standing project, the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) progr...

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    Black Hole at the Center of a Galaxy in the Early Universe received Less Mass Influx than expected, astronomers find

    January 31, 2024, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Reddish vortex seen from from the side above with a bright centre and a thin ray protruding vertically from the plane
    Cosmic powerhouse: Artist’s impression of a quasar whose core region was literally set in motion in the early universe. While galaxies often merged with each other at that time, large amounts of matter were thrown into the centres of the galaxies. When matter orbits the supermassive black hole in the centre of a galaxy, energy is released, which explains the enormous brightness of an active galaxy. The quasar can therefore still be observed from a great distance today.
    © ESO / M. Kornmesser

    With the upgraded GRAVITY-instrument at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer of the European Southern Observatory, a team of astronomers led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics has determined the mass of a black hole in a galaxy only 2 billion years after the Big Bang...

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    Lopsided Galaxies Shed Light on the Speed of Dark Matter

    January 30, 2024, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Lopsided galaxies shed light on the speed of dark matter
    Fig. 1. Dynamical friction. The panels depict sparse areas of the universe with dark color and dense areas with light color. The upper panels show the density around a galaxy if the galaxy’s gravity bends (left) or does not bend (right) the trajectories of dark matter particles. The lower panel shows the difference between them, or how the galaxy affects the distribution of dark matter. The arrows represent the acceleration caused by the overdensity behind the galaxy, from which the friction on the center of the galaxy is deducted. Since the arrows have different directions and strengths in different areas, the tidal forces are able to change the shape of a galaxy. Credit: Rain Kipper

    In new research published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, researchers have figured out how to precisely c...

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    ‘Old Smokers’ and ‘Squalling Newborns’ among Hidden Stars Spotted for First Time

    January 29, 2024, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Artist impressions of a so-called 'Old Smoker' red giant star and 'Squalling Newborn' protostar, both observed as part of new research.
    Discovery: Pictured main is an artist’s impression of a cloud of gas and dust being thrown out by a new type of red giant star dubbed an ‘old smoker’. It was spotted along with dozens of so-called ‘squalling newborn’ protostars (inset) at the heart of the Milky Way by an international team of astronomers.
    Credit
    Philip Lucas/University of Hertfordshire
    Licence type Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

    ‘Hidden’ stars including a new type of elderly giant nicknamed an ‘old smoker’ have been spotted for the first time by astronomers.

    The mystery objects exist at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy and can sit quietly for decades – fading almost to invisibility – before suddenly puffing out clouds of smoke, according to a new study published today in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ...

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